Arms Around Me
by concreteskies
Summary: A series of unrelated drabbles/ficlets written for a hug/cuddles meme on tumblr
1. Couch cuddling

**AN: **This is a collection of unrelated ficlets or drabbles all between 300 and 500 words. Some of them have been up on my tumblr before. The title is also the prompt the story was written for. I will upload a new one each day for a while. I hope you like it!

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><p><strong>Couch Cuddling<strong>

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><p>"It's so obvious that he is the killer, they could have at least tried to make it a little more suspenseful" Kate mumbled under her breath, feeling the way Castle was laughing at her comments from where her head was bedded in his lap.<p>

The movie was already going on for an hour and so far nothing had really happened, except that Kate mentioned at least 20 ways the TV cops had disregarded the protocol.

She was lying with her head rested in Castle's lap, his hand draped around her stomach just tightly enough to keep her tucked against him securely.

His other hand was playing with her hair, tracing curl after curl, stroking it in soft, soothing patterns.

She felt herself cuddling into him a little further, her hand moving up catch his hand into her own, gently tucking it to her lips, where she placed the softest of kisses into his palm.

When she looked up at him she saw him smiling down at her and couldn't help but return the gesture before turning around to keep watching that ridiculous movie.

She didn't let go of his hand though and kept massaging it with her fingers.

At first he didn't recognize the pattern she was drawing into his palm, her slim fingers, moving slowly, recurring strokes, letters.

"I love you"

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><p><strong>If you have any other prompts, taken from the meme or not let me know, I will definitely get to them!<strong>


	2. Clinging

**Clinging**

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><p>He can hear her whimpering next to him, small, desperate sounds that make his heart clench painfully with the knowledge that it was most definitely him who brought them up, that it is his fault she is now shifting through the bed covers, caught it some nightmare that involves him, in Paris, without her.<p>

He reaches out his hand, hesitating for only a moment before he places it on her shoulder, startling her back into consciousness.

Her eyes fly open, flickering through the darkness of the room, until at last, finally, they get caught on his.

He can hear her taking a sharp intake of breath. She's practically sucking in the air, trying to fill her lungs up again, trying to escape the claws of her nightmare and get a grip on reality again.

"I'm here, I'm so sorry" he whispers, over and over, repeating it like a mantra.

She reaches out her hand for him, her arm moving agonizingly slow, aching for him to be close, needing to feel him around her, assuring her that he is okay.

He meets her halfway, pulls her flush against his chest, where she rests her head in the crook of his neck. He feels the way her hands are grasping at the fabric of his shirt at his back, her fingernails cutting into his skin almost painfully, clinging to him like a life line, like he would disappear once she let go and it makes his eyes brim with tears that burn like fire.

He doesn't notice her crying before he feels the soft tremors of her body, suppressed sobs wracking through her and he pulls her impossibly closer, stroking his fingers through her hair, long, soothing strokes, one after one, and slowly, so very slowly he feels her calming down and settling against him.

He feels her hold on him loosening ever so slightly, her slim fingers relaxing at his back, slowly letting go of the firm grasp they had on him.

She starts to settle, exhausted and spent from the previous days and conveys all her weight on him, trusting him to hold her through the night.

"It's okay Castle" he almost doesn't catch her slurred words, almost sure he has imagined them "You're here now"

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><p><strong>I don't think I've had this up before, I hope you like it!<strong>

**Also I am sorry for the double update, but fanfiction didn't let my story up the first time:/**


	3. Tackle Hug

**Tacklehug:**

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><p>She is tossing around in bed, unable to get some rest and can't help but risk a glance over to his side of the bed, hoping that by some miracle maybe he will have appeared there. But it is still empty; blank bed sheets mocking her with his absence, leaving the bed cold and way too huge for her alone, leaving the blankets to swallow her whole.<p>

Her mind doesn't seem to be able to let go of the awful pictures the day had brought with it, the images of the dead little girl still haunting her every time she closes her eyes. And she feels the pulling need for him in her chest. She needs him to be here now. She needs his book tour to be over. She needs the hold he always has on her after days like these, his arms keeping her just a little tighter, just a little closer to himself. But he isn't there; he is in Atlanta signing books, too far away, way too far away from her.

She doesn't hear the door opening, or the person entering the loft. Doesn't her the soft thumps of his feet on the tiles, the way they are nearing their bed room, desperately attempting to keep quiet, not to make any noise as not to wake her.

The crash that echoes through the silence startles her into a sitting position, her mind on alert for only a second until she hears a stifled "Shit" coming from his study.

She wriggles out of the blankets that had wound themselves around her, practically jumping out of the bed and towards the black silhouette that is now manifesting itself in the doorframe.

She reaches out her arms, throwing them around him and flies into his chest without lowering her pace, their bodies crashing together, the sudden impact making him lose his balance and resulting in the both of them going down.

She is lying on top of him, her head hovering right above his, smiling at him brightly in the darkness of the room.

She can feel his laughter rumbling in his chest and quickly leans down to cover his lips with hers, catching his smile with her mouth, drinking his laughter in.

God she had missed him.

"Someone's happy to see me." She hears him laugh underneath her and she gently reaches out to trace his cheek with her fingers, tracing the features she has grown to love so much.

"Oh you have no idea" she whispers before she leans down to capture his lips once more.

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><p><strong>I do realize that this sucks but I promised a story every day. Tomorrow's story will be better I swear. I'm really sorry:**


	4. Sleepy

**Sleepy**

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><p>Their cab had been stuck in traffic for the last half an hour; car after car standing unmoving, a long line of steel vehicles in a seemingly endless row in front of them.<p>

The book party had been going on for ages, and with answering reporter's questions and fans asking for autographs it had been impossible to leave any sooner than they did.

She can feel the fatigue settling in her body, making her feel heavy, her eyes dropping from time to time; can feel the exhaustion finally kicking in when they are seated in the cab, soft, old leather in their backs, finally comfortable.

Their cab driver is playing soft instrumental tunes that distract them from the angry sounds of car honks coming from the outside and she feels Castle's arm reaching around her waist, his fingers skimming across her back, his fingertips wandering over the silky fabric of her dress before he settles his palm on her waist.

Kate leans over to his side, their shoulders and arms brushing against each other when she lets her head drop down on his shoulder, resting it in the crook of his neck.

He pulls her in just a little tighter, near enough that if she scooped any closer she would be sitting on his lap.

She feels his lips on top of her head, peppering soft kisses into her hair.

"Just sleep" she hears his muttered words near her ear.

She shakes her head, almost barely moving it, too tired to bring up even this small amount of energy.

She feels his warm breath on her cheeks, the soft huffs of his laughter and she closes her eyes at the feeling, a small sigh of content escaping her lips.

His smell is enveloping her like a favorite blanket, the familiarity of it pulling her in and she knows that she will lose this fight.

"Wake me when we're home" she mumbles under her breath, her words slurred, too far gone already to form coherent sentences.

"I will" she hears him mutter before she finally gives into the pull of sleep, falling into a deep slumber, right there in his arms.

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><p><strong>Changed this one a little bit. Also 2 stories to goJ Hope you had an amazeballs day everybody, and thank you very much for the reviews!<strong>


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